Resources may be, for example, natural resources, processed natural resources, energy and manufactured resources. Examples of natural resources are water, coal, gold, natural gas, oil, and minerals. Filtered or purified water, gasoline, refined oil and jewelry containing gold are examples processed natural resources. Steel may be considered a manufactured resource (i.e., steel) or a processed natural resource (i.e., iron). Natural resources generally take a very long time to create, but may be used relatively rapidly, or there may be relatively little in existence, leading to a scarcity of those resources. Some processed and manufactured resources are expensive to process or manufacture. Additionally, there is usually an expense associated with transporting resources.
As areas of the world become more developed, there are more people competing for existing resources, especially natural or processed natural resources. Some resources, for example, water and air, are becoming more polluted, for example, due to industrialization, especially in developing countries, greater resource use, and relatively dense population concentrations of people. Consequently, the demand for some resources is increasing and the availability of some resources and the quality of some resources are declining. The relative availability and demand for resources, especially resources of high quality, are market mechanisms that affect the price of the resources, in many cases in an upward direction. It is noted that the availability of a resource, the quality of a resource or the value or price of a resource may be geographically dependent.
Water is a precious resource. Climate shifts and weather patterns often cause local scarcities of water for consumption which may result in water use restrictions. Quality water for consumption is, at least in some locals, becoming scarce, or in some areas, nonexistent. Consequently, the price of supplied water (e.g., water supplied by a public or private water system) has been increasing and may continue to increase and become more time-dependent. Because, in some areas, prices of water have, at least in the past, been relatively low, consumers of water have traditionally not been overly conscious of water prices during daily customary consumption of water, and existing water saving measures may have been adequate from an economic perspective, if not from an environmental perspective.
There are many appliances and devices in the household that consume water, for example, washing machines, dishwashers, power washers, commodes, showers, and lawn and garden watering devices. Some home water devices have been designed to reduce water usage, such as, low flow shower heads and low flush commodes.
A number of methods can be used to determine the price of a resource such as water. The price can be set directly by the resource provider (e.g., a water utility). Within a certain area or congregation of water users, the price can also be determined in a market-based matter, such as with auctions or other bidding methods.